


August Sun

by Caelys



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Pre-War, pre WWI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25462696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caelys/pseuds/Caelys
Summary: The August Sun was cruel. The August Sun took everything from her. Family, home, hope. The January Sun was kind, it helped her get her life back. But the year was short and soon the next August rolled around.
Relationships: Tommy Shelby/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Hypothermia

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Августовское солнце](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29470989) by [Red_Yennifer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Yennifer/pseuds/Red_Yennifer)



> Posting this parallelly here and on tumblr. I'm using the same username there.

December 27th. 1913. That strange time in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. That few days that feel eternal. Time has stopped. People have nothing else to do except to be with their families. Kids are running in the streets, snowballs flying in every direction, often hitting unsuspecting pedestrians. And there, a few seconds after the collision between the snow and the head, kids are running in every direction, like snowflakes caught in a blizzard. Behind them a lone man is shouting “Hooligans! Who raised you!”

Every year the cities feel alive. Christmas carols and decorated trees. Every year, but not this year. The winter of 1913, ‘that damned winter’ as it was referred to, was different. The first snow fell at the end of October. And since that moment it hadn’t left Britain. The whole country was caught by a deadly snow grip, due to which 7 people had already lost their lives. Frozen to death. All alone. Some of the bodies were found in the late spring, months after their death. Forgotten and hidden below over a meter of snow and ice.

No one remembered such a winter. Not even the oldest, barely below the age of 100. Never in their long lives they had seen such a thing. Some were even convinced it was God’s wrath or a sign of the coming Apocalypse.

And in that almost Biblical catastrophe was a man, riding a horse in the middle of the British countryside. He was covered head to toe to protect himself from the piercing wind. Just two jewel blue eyes were uncovered. Was he old or young? It was impossible to tell. His body was hunched over. The smaller he appeared the more body warmth he would keep.

But what was that man doing? Who would dare go anywhere in that weather? Only Thomas Shelby would dare go do business. Only he would travel all the way from Manchester to Birmingham. Step by step, he was returning home, and he was determined to return that night.

A few years had passed since the death of his mother and the disappearance of his father. A few years had passed since he had to take care for it all - a sister and three brothers, the youngest barely over the age of 4. And so just above the age of 22 he had to be a brother and a leader of a family. A crushing task for someone so young.

The wind was blowing against Tommy’s face, limiting his vision. It was like everything had suddenly lost color. White ground, gray skies and black trees. Wherever he looked, it was all the same. If he wasn’t so familiar with his surroundings, he would have gotten lost for sure. Suddenly something caught his attention. There on his right was... something. A small bump, probably a rabbit’s burrow. A second glance towards it, and suddenly the small bump became a horrific thing to look at. A hand was sticking out as if to get the attention of anyone who would pass by. Curled up by the side of the barely visible road was a person.

Another victim of the silent killer that was this harsh winter. No human being deserved such a horrific death. Frozen and left at the mercy of the obviously merciless weather.

Tommy stopped the horse beside the body. The hand drained of color had an almost blueish hue to it. How long has the person stood there? An hour? A day? Or possibly longer? He looked at it for a few seconds, as if to pay his condolences to the life that was lost. And just as he was ready to continue his travel, something made him stop. He had heard stories of people that were buried alive below meters of snow, slowly suffocating and freezing. He knew that the right thing to do was to check for vital signs.

After the death of his mother, this was the first time he was this close to a lifeless body. The touch of death was something he wanted to stay as far from as possible. The faster he checked for a pulse, the faster he would be on his way and he would forget about this.

But he felt something. The person was alive.

* * *

_Was there a life before the wars? Before entire generations were scarred by them? Fighting for a cause they though was right... But is there a cause that justifies the loss of human life? Does human life worth less, just because it belongs to an enemy soldier?_

_The people who went to the front either didn’t return or returned as broken shells of the people they used to be. The trains that took young healthy men to fight, returned, but this time they were empty._

_Even the cats that lived in the railway station were gone, as if they knew what would happen a few days later and were quick to flee._

_Animals always knew when tragedy would struck. But this time they were late. This was the end of the tragedy that started over a year ago._

_Families were separated. Banished form the places whey were born. Homes that saw generation after generation be born and die, were suddenly left empty. They were abandoned._

_Those creaky wooden door had no one to share their secrets with._

_Empty homes and empty people._

* * *

“JOHN! Call a doctor, now!” Tommy burst trough the front door alongside an incredible amount of snow. In his arms was the tiny lifeless-looking body. If that person looked dead there, by the side of the road, they looked even worse now. A small frozen pile of clothing, covering up the body inside.

It was way past midnight and the whole house was silent, but Tommy’s shouting woke up the inhabitants. One by one all his sleepy siblings started coming down the stairs. Wild hairs and wrinkled clothing. Their confused and slightly irritated whispers were turning into gasps the second they laid their eyes on their brother. Tommy knelt in front of the fireplace, in attempt to relight the almost burned out fire.

“Tommy...” still half asleep and very confused John tried to ask what exactly was going on, but Tommy was too busy to give him any sort of explanation.

“I said get a fucking doctor!”

Five minutes later his brother was all dressed up and out the door. The others helped move the body towards the fire. No one dared to ask questions. In complete silence they removed a few layers of clothing. Layer after layer, the curled up mass finally started to gain the shape of a human.

After the scarf was removed from around the head, the face was revealed. It was a woman. She wasn’t shivering, at least not any more. Even though no one in the room had a medical degree, they all knew that, that was dangerous. Her pupils were dilated, as if she had seen something horrific. Dilated, but responsive. Her eyes were moving, silently watching everyone in that room.

“Tommy, she’s not moving...” Arthur noted.

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know, I don’t fucking know”

Waiting for John to return felt like an eternity. The otherwise quiet sounds of the clock were deafening. Each second felt like an hour.

After a good while the doctor finally arrived. What took to get him out of bed at almost 4 in the morning, only John Shelby knew.

The look on the doctor’s face was horrifying. All of a sudden he understood why he was called in such a hurry. The woman in front of him was very close to death. Frozen and with such a weak pulse that in the beginning he seriously wondered if she hadn’t died already.

He requested a change of clothes and warm water with honey. The next couple of hours were critical. If she got through the night, she would have good chances of surviving.

* * *

The morning light was shining softly through the windows. The sky was clear for the first time in 3 weeks. Completely in contrast to the snow storm that was plaguing Birmingham 4 days ago. A new life for the world outside, but also for the woman inside.

She woke up in an unfamiliar room. Her heavy eyelids were fighting her with every ounce of strength they possessed to remain closed. What was there that she hadn’t seen already? It would hurt no one to remain like that, in the nothingness, for a few more minutes.

Finally, her body gave up. Another small victory for the soul over the mortal body. Wood and brawn colors all around her. Nothing recognizable. Just a bed and a dresser and that was it. But in such a tiny room even these two pieces of furniture were more than enough. Walls covered in beige wallpaper. At some places the wallpaper was all torn up and replaced by newspaper pages. Which were now various shades of yellow. It all was almost like the home she had to abandon months prior.

Familiar, but at the same time just a bit off, that it was obvious she saw that place for the first time.

Was that heaven? Had she died? No, it couldn’t have been. Heaven would look like home, not just a simple analogue of it. Heaven would have had the smell of summer fires; The dust you find after a long absence from home. Heaven would be home. The place truly lost to the depths of time. Never to be seen again; never to be able to return. It would be just cruel that the place you go after you die isn’t the place you long to return to.

But this place felt real to her. The feel of the heavy blanked that moved with every breath she made. The warmth of the sunlight that caressed her hand. It wasn’t heaven and she wasn’t dead. She still had a lifetime to live before she was ready to see her home again, just as she remembered it.

One thing didn’t feel so real. The silence. Not a single sound was heard in the entire room.

She tried to get up, but her body barely moved. Was she gotten that weak? How she ended up there?

Suddenly steps broke the silence.

Steps coming closer and closer.

Up the stairs.

In front of the door.

The handle turned and the door opened. A young man entered the room. He looked startled, as if he didn’t expect to find her awake. In his hand was a cup.

“I see you’re awake. I hope you’re feeling better.” Tommy said with a small smile.

The woman in the bed didn’t respond. She just stared at him quietly. Didn’t she hear him? The doctor did in fact warn them, that her behavior may be a bit strange in the beginning. Maybe that was it.

Tommy tried a second time to start a conversation. “Are you feeling better?” This time she opened her mouth, she had heard him. The words that came out of her mouth weren’t familiar to the British man.

Rapidly said, harsh sounding words. Short, hard, even rough words. They started and ended more abruptly. It was easy to tell where one word started and ended.

Whatever Tommy expected to hear wasn’t that. He ran his hand through the shaven sides of his head. They looked at each other. Silence fell again. Tommy thought for a second and passed the cup to the woman. “Drink it. You’ll feel better” he said slowly and gently. How could he make sure that she doesn’t see him as a threat when she doesn’t understand him.

But one thing he missed - soft spoken words were universal. It didn’t matter she didn’t know what he told her, she understood the intent behind the words.

“Chai” she said, while pointing at the cup in her hands. Tommy nodded. He remembered, he had heard that at some places all sorts of tea, where called chai.

And just as that the language barrier broke. A simple brown liquid became a bridge between the two people.

“Tommy” he said while pointing at his chest.

“Ablena” was the short answer.


	2. Remedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ghosts that will always haunt us

_THE BALKAN WAR. LONDON, Wednesday._

The investment of Sofia is complete. The last connecting link of the railway has been cut off by the Serbians. The inhabitants of Sofia are threatened by famine. Bulgaria has asked Romania to open the railway running from Varna to Sofia to carry provisions, and it is expected that Romania will consent. The peace conference at Bucharest meets tomorrow. (...) The Greeks and Serbians will probably refuse to "sign any armistice” until Bulgaria accepts the terms already offered. (...) During the Balkan War the "Zeit" calculates that the Serbians have lost 31,000 in killed and wounded, the Greeks 18,000, the Bulgarians 80,000, and the Montenegrans 1600. 

Casino and Kyogle Courier and North Coast Advertiser; 02.08.1913; Page 2

...

BALKAN WAR AFTERMATH. Thursday, August 21.

Learning that the town of Meranicon was to fall to the Bulgarians under the treaty signed at Bucharest, the inhabitants abandoned their homes, set fire to the vineyards, and (...) When all was ready for the evacuation they set fire to the town. (...)

Border Watch (Mount Gambier); 23.08.1913; Page 3

* * *

January 4th, 1914.

Eight days had passed since the woman was found. The new year rolled around and almost as if the weather was aware of that change; the snowstorms had stopped. In that first days of January, life decided to be kinder to the tired and frozen people in Britain.

Life decided to be kinder to one lost soul thousands of kilometers away from home. Slowly but surely the girl was getting better. For instance she started sleeping less; from 16 hours a day through 12 to just 7. Day by day she recovered her true colors and the frozen grayish hue started to fade away. As did the dark circles around her eyes, although they were still prominent.

Those blue circles made her face look hollow. A tired look on a death touched person.

Each day she was getting stronger and after a week she even started walking around the room. Her first steps - unsure as if her legs were made of the ice, that nearly killed her and were gonna break the second they touched the hardwood floor. But they didn’t.

Step by step she was going through the road of recovery. Step by step she was getting better. But her steps ended in front of the hardwood door. Ablena didn’t dare to go out. The world outside was different, unlike that small room that almost resembled home in her eyes. No harm came there. The world out there was unknown, different. It almost killed her. How does one face anything different when he doesn’t even understand it?

“Pol, are you sure he can help us?” Tommy asked a few seconds after the man had gone into the room. His aunt just a few steps in front of him. Tommy pulled her away from the door. His mind was racing.

“No, but we have no other choice.” Polly answered after which she disappeared behind the wooden door.

Inside the small room were already Ablena and the man. He was significantly older, maybe in his late sixties. He was one of the first Russian immigrants in Small Heath. The ones that came to town over fifty years ago. Now he was just a part of the strange people living in the neighborhood, just minding his business and counting the days that he had left.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how much of help I’d be” the man started, after him and Ablena exchanged a few words. His stare hardened by the continuous years of suffering.

“I know, I know. She’s not fucking Russian, but at least you’ll understand some parts of her speech. We wouldn’t.” Polly interrupted. She took a long drag out of the cigarette, seconds after she exhaled, she changed her pattern of speech. “Please, she needs help as much as we do”

A second passed. Another drag. Two. The clock stroke 1 pm. Three.

“Alright, what do you want to know?”

“Who is she and how the fuck did she end up by that road” Tommy wasted no time asking the most important question. These past days everyone in the house was speculating who exactly was that woman. No one had a clue even where to begin with, until Polly has a small talk with Ablena. They didn’t understand each other, but at least Polly cleared the picture and was sure of one thing - Ablena came form somewhere East.

The older man took a deep breath and asked a few questions. It wasn’t long after Ablena started to talk. Words after words, after words. She had a lot to say. That was the most anyone there had heard her talk. She stopped frequently, catching her breath. The words were choking her, but she persisted.

Some words were spoken fast and harsh as if she wanted to get away from the memory as quickly as possible, while at other times she said no more than 20 words per minute. Her words lacked the flow that a coherent story would have.

And the truth is - it wasn’t a coherent story. That was the very first time she was able to tell what had happened in her life. The first time someone would understand her.

It was obviously a long story, why wouldn’t it be? It’s hard to summarize your entire life with just a few sentences. The older man nodded frequently, sometimes asking questions, at other times just silently staring at her, waiting to hear what else she had to say. At the end he was looking at her with a different eye.

_Misery loves company._

“So?” Tommy asked after she finished talking. He was impatient to know what was being said. Impatient to know who had he saved. Impatient and curious.

“Ya have a map in here?”

Tommy shook his head. Why on Earth would they ever need a map?

“Her name is Ablena, but you already know that. Around 20 years of age” The man started. General talk, Tommy impatiently raised an eyebrow. He could have guessed all of that, with no problem.

“You have heard of the war in the East, right?”

The Shelbys definitely didn’t expect him to continue in such a direction. Maybe the irritation on Tommy’s face was more clear than he expected. Or maybe the man skipped directly to the important parts of the story.

Of course, they have heard, the international columns of every single newspaper under the sun, were regularly informing about it. Yes they had heard, but they didn’t know much of it. Why would they? There, in some remote part of Europe, people were at war, people were dying...

Of course, the Balkan wars were a tragedy, but it was a remote tragedy. Just as everyone else, they knew about it and that was all. Why would they even care, when they weren’t involved. Their lives wouldn’t change just because thousands of unknown to them people had died.

When the older man didn’t receive an an answer he continued “The war ended last summer.”

There was no judgment in his voice. He couldn’t blame them, when he was in the same position as they were. Informed, but not caring.

“Her brother and father fought in Edirne, but didn’t return.” He stopped for a second “I think her village is now part of another country or it was abandoned. I didn’t understand her very clearly here. She and her mother tried to flee the country, but her mother was caught being on board of the ship illegally. I think...”

“She spoke for 10 fucking minutes and you can translate us less than 4 sentences?”

“I told you, I don’t speak the language. I get the context of her words, not the details” he grew angry, they needed his help and at the same time he got this attitude.

“Does she have family here? Friends? Anyone she knows?” Tommy was quick to interfere. Arguing now wouldn’t lead to anywhere when questions still stood there unanswered. 

The man translated. And got just one sentence back. “Your family are the only people she knows”

That was the answer they didn’t want. Tommy and Polly shared a look. Fuck. How does saving one person from freezing led to taking home a foreigner who didn’t even speak English.

“Can you excuse us for a moment. My nephew and I have some things to discuss. We’ll be back in a few” Polly stood up and led the way towards the door. Tommy followed her closely. He knew what Pol had to say - the same things that she was repeating for over a week.

_You see what happens when you offer your home most welcoming?_

Seconds before Polly’s hand touched the door handle one word was spoken. One word that echoed in the room. And in that word was collected all the desperation and suffering one person could ever feel.

“What did she say?” asked Tommy.

“Help, she asked for help” 

The door closed. And as her fate was being decided less than 5 meters away from here, Ablena wept; silently cursing her life away.

“Tommy, I know what you’re thinking and you can’t let her live here”

Here they went again. The same argument for probably 6th time. Tommy had already lost the count.

“Why can’t I, Polly you saw her. You heard what he said. She knows no one, we can’t just kick her out!”

“And if you let her stay - how are you going to communicate?”

“We’ll teach her.” And that was a fact. There were 5 people living in that house and at least one of them would have the time to teach her. For her everything would be helpful, even simply listening to them speak.

His aunt opened her mouth, but he wasn’t going to let her finish. “You’re a Christian, Pol. What does God say about mercy?”

This was the first time he ever played the Christian card and Polly was fucking mad. God was merciful, but she was no God.


	3. Melancholia

June 24th, 1914.

“Ada, wake” soft whispers cut through the silence “Wake, it’s today. Ada, up!”

Ablena started shaking Ada slightly, but when it became apparent that Ada had no intention of waking up, the shaking grew a bit more violent. Ada Shelby, the heavy sleeper that she was, didn’t realize what was happening the first few seconds. Was it an earthquake? Was she dreaming that she was on a ship in the middle of the ocean? What if she wasn’t dreaming and she really was on a ship caught in a storm? Or maybe...

One pinch to the cheek later and Ada was fully awake.

“Ouch, did you really needed to do that?” No, neither was she dreaming or was surrounded by water. Everything was the same in that part of Small Heath. The stale smell of the room and the pitch darkness at night. Even during the summer the smog was hanging so low over that part of town that the moon and stars were invisible.

Honestly Ada wasn’t sure when was the last time she ever saw a star. Just suffocating gray fog. Once the sun set, everything got darker, grayer and infinitely sadder.

That was curse of Small Heath. A forgotten place, where everything that set a foot there died. Hopes. Dreams. Lives. People had no hope for the future. Each day was the same as the previous one.

And yet Small Heath gave a home to another stranger. A home and a life. A hopeless individual in a god forsaken place.

“Get dressed. Sun is up in two hours.” Ablena whispered. She was already fully dressed, her long hair braided. And even in her sleep deprived state Ada couldn’t help but wonder how long has the girl been awake for?

Less than 10 minutes later Ada was ready and pacing towards the stables, just like the two of them agreed to do last night. And as she got there, she found Ablena sitting beside the two horses. She had already prepared everything and was just waiting for Ada to appear.

“Where are we going?” Ada asked. She had a lot of questions, even though Ablena tried to explain some of the things they were going to do, Ada was still confused. Confused, but curious. 

“Out of town! Follow me”

In just 5 months Ablena had learned the bigger part of Birmingham. Small Heath; the better parts of town; the places where she most definitely shouldn’t go. And soon Birmingham was proven small for her soul.

She hadn’t grown up in a city. Her home was a small village with less than a few hundred inhabitants. It was typical that everyone knew everyone. Birmingham was different. People were passing each other without a greeting or even a nod. One thing she noticed - most of the people didn’t even look others in the eyes. Always their feel. As if their spirit was broken.

Ablena didn’t want to be one of them. It wasn’t normal to refuse to look others, to pass by them silently. And in the beginning she tried to be polite - she greeted every single familiar face she saw on the streets.

But she soon stopped, not only no one greeted her. But even the opposite - one old man spat at her face. It was vile, disgusting. And it made her realize how cold those people were. Almost heartless.

Ever since that discovery of hers she earned to go away. But where? She had found a home. A place she was welcomed in. A family that accepted her. A family that cared about her and she cared about them as well. She couldn’t leave them.

A tiny home in a place most hostile.

Ablena rode confidently through the pitch darkness and empty streets. Factories. Small abandoned looking houses. Poverty. She was rushing to escape them, to return to the one place she knew. The place she had grown up in. 

The second the two girls passed the last house that marked the edge of Birmingham, Ablena rode faster. And at that point even Ada, who had grown up riding, had troubles keeping up.

Small dirt roads that most likely led to nowhere. Fields surrounded by forests. Yellow and green touching the infinite horizon. In those moments when the sun hadn’t got up yet, time had stopped. It was only them and the hundreds of memories that were flooding Ablena’s head.

They were chocking her. Drowning her. Every breath harder than the previous. In that moment, she wasn’t alone. There were here grandmother, her family and all the girls she grew up with. She swore she heard every single voice. The wind carrying words from thousands of kilometers far away. From beyond the grave.

Even as a child she knew that if she got lost, she needed to follow the dirt path in the middle of the field and it would have taken her home. It was an unwritten rule. Follow the dirt path.

Fuck, she had been following every single path around Birmingham, and they all took her to one place - a new home. And she had to accept it. Home was that slim two story home in Small Heath. Home were 4 brothers and one sister. Home was the most foreign place imaginable. Home was him.

“Tell me exactly what we are doing here” Ada asked, after Ablena finally slowed down.

“I told you, today is a special day”

“You already said that, tell me more”

“Today, we at home, we call Enjovden. It’s...” Ablena was silent for a while, how does one explain a tradition when one doesn’t know the right words. In that moment the language barrier wasn’t just a barrier it was more like a wall.

“Before the sun is up, we need to be out to collect herbs and flowers.”

“But why do we need to do it before the sun is up?” Ada asked while jumping off of the horse.

“Before sunrise they have most power. They keep you healthy. Safe. Come, let teach you”

Ablena took Ada’s hand and guided her. Just like her grandmother guided her years ago. This knowledge was something that was passed generation through generation. Mother to daughter.

And although Ablena was so young, she had to take the role of the older, more experienced woman.

Word by word. Knowledge was shared. Traditions were passed.

Sister to sister.

* * *

“What are they doing?” Tommy asked.

He had come home just in time for Ablena’s English lesson. Which at that point in time was a daily occurrence. Every day someone was taking a few hours to help the girl with her English. Most of the days that someone was Tommy. And that was because the very day he left her with Arthur and John the only thing she learned was to swear like a sailor.

“I have no idea. They have been there the whole day” John answered while smoking his 5th cigarette for the day. For almost half an hour he watched through the window how his sister and Ablena were sitting in the tiny yard. Just taking different greenery and doing something with them. Almost in like a trance like state he was watching how the foreign girl was humming a song, rarely interrupting it to say something or to correct Ada who was helping very enthusiastically.

The two girls returned home a bit after 7 am. Now it was close to 4 pm and they were still in that backyard. The June sun shining warmly over them.

“Finn, what is going on there?” Tommy asked his little brother, who was once again rushing out.

“They are making flower crowns!” the little kid shouted enthusiastically while barging through the door to join his bigger sister.

“No, Finn. We’re not making flower crowns” Ada corrected him, but the thing in her hands suspiciously looked like a one.

“Then what exactly are you two doing? First you disappear first thing in the morning, now this?” Tommy followed his little brother out. Due to the lack of space around the girls he had to pull a chair beside the house.

“Can I explain, because I think I got it right this time?” Ada turned to the other woman. After a quick nod she started talking once again. “So today is midsummer day!”

“So?”

“Flowers and herbs are most powerful today. And before you ask, I don’t know why and how, but they believe that the greenery that is gathered before sunrise can protect the household, from if I understood correctly, illnesses and evil spirits.”

“And how do they do that?”

“I’ll show” Ablena got up and made a sign to Tommy to do the same.

In her hand there was the so called flower crown. Standing centimeters away. Facing each other. Tommy’s tall frame towering over her. Ablena reached up and placed the wreath on his head without a word.

_Whatever you wanna say, this is most definitely a flower crown_ , Tommy thought.

And then and there without breaking eye contact, her hands still on the top of his head Ablena started her song again. Slowly and softly. With each word growing louder. Stronger. Strange words from a foreign land.

Eye to eye. Barely blinking. Her warm breath on his neck. Either time was going faster or had completely stopped. It was hard to tell. In their little bubble time didn’t really exist.

“So am I free from the evil spirits?” Tommy finally muttered a while after the singing had stopped.

“Yes. You’ll live”

It was personal, it was intimate. And as Tommy sat again on that chair, something had changed. And even though he didn’t really believe in anything spiritual, he did feel protected.

And even as Ablena did the very same thing to his siblings, he felt a difference. Even though the actions were the very same. The song was the same. But as she did her strange ritual, she had her eyes closed.

Eyes that told hundreds of things.

And as strange as that whole night felt, it grew even stranger. When out of seemingly nowhere, Ablena pulled out a bucket full of water from the other side of the yard.

And this time even Ada was surprised. Okay, the wreaths somewhat made sense, but this was a whole new thing.

“So” Ablena started “This is silent water. It stays the night under stars. We use it on special days.”

Ada was looking so confused, that Tommy barely held his laughter.

“And what does it do?”

“Yesterday I asked you for a ring?” Ablena asked and nodded towards the bucket. And as Ada came closer she found her ring there, alongside other greenery and a bit of oats and a pendant that belonged to Ablena.

“This is about marriage. The man you love. Take ring and oats. Sleep on top of them. Whoever you dream of tonight, you’ll end up marring.”

With that words Ada’s face lit up. She had a special someone in mind and Ablena knew that. Freddie Thorne. The man she had so much about. The one that Ada had set her eyes on. And the reason this was happening. Because Ablena knew how much he meant for Ada, she decided to show her another tradition.

And as Ablena was taking the ring out she couldn’t help but think about the those eyes she saw in her dream a few years ago. One painfully familiar set of eyes. The very first thing she saw when she opened her eyes and her new life started.


	4. Nothing Above, Nothing Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how far you run, some things just reach you.

The train station was full of people. Whole families sending off their loved ones. Countless of faces that were slowly merging into one. Dozens of people sharing the same look in their eyes. A collective feel of concern.

The heart of the small town was there, waiting to be loaded on those trains. Alongside with those man.

If someone saw what was going on, the immediate reaction would be a wedding, a celebration or something... Now war. This here was a celebration of life. Man in their newest clothes were going off. Woman and children were saying goodbye to their husbands and fathers. They were going to be away from their families for God knew how long. But there was not a trace of dread. People were hopeful. These man were going to return soon.

Just a couple of months until it was all over. _A couple of months that turned out to be a lie._

These man were singing. They were cheering.

These man haven’t seen death and destruction. War was a foreign thing to them. Of course it would be. The last war was 30 years ago. Some of them weren’t even born at that time, and others were just kids. Kids who didn’t know what went down.

These man were hopeful.

The war was justified. If there even is a justified reason for killing another human being. All life is precious, the priests preached; _as long as it didn’t belong to an enemy soldier_. In that case the loss of a human life was equal to the murder of a worm.

“You will return, right?”

“I’ll be back before you realize I was gone” Ablena’s brother answered completely unhinged. He was so confident in his words...

One hug and he was away. One hug that contained all the love they had for each other. A brother and sister that were inseparable since birth. Now they were scared to say goodbye, because who knew when they were going to see each other again. They didn’t say ‘I’ll miss you’, they already knew.

His final words were proven a lie. A cruel fucking lie. He didn’t come back. None of those man did. They died in unmarked graves in no man’s land. The only thing that came back that came back from them was a letter informing their families of their loss.

* * *

It was an early morning. The August sun had just gone up the hill and was shining softly over the smoky Birmingham. It was way to early for the Shelbys to be up. But they were. Not only were they awake, but they were already downstairs. Shouting.

A woman’s muffled cries were clear. Even through the walls were separating the different rooms. The shouts were so loud and clear.

Something was wrong. Ablena could feel it in the air. Something was terribly wrong. She got up, her heart sunken. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to check what was going on, after all family business was family business. But something in those cries struck her heart. The were a signal of pain so universal, and so tragic that she knew she had to go. Ablena had to help.

Taking a step after step on the warm wooden floor. With every passed centimeter, the shouts were growing louder. Ablena didn’t understand. So many unfamiliar words. What were they arguing about? Why was Ada crying? Ablena was able to make some of the words. Finn... Family... Leave...

“Abi, why are they screaming?” little Finn was standing at the end of the corridor, near the staircase. That poor kid. Usually the older Shelby were protecting him from their problems. Arguing outside or never actually shouting. Kids were supposed to stay kids. And whatever illegal shit was taking place, Finn had to be protected from it all. He had to have a normal childhood.

Not this time. This issue was so pressing that even the thought of their youngest brother didn’t stop them from shouting.

“It’s alright. Go back to your room”

Finn shook his head. How could be return to his room when all of this was going on? The little kid ran towards her. In seconds she was kneeling in front of him and hugging him. “It’s alright.”

“I am scared” Finn cried, his head buried in her hair.

“ _So am I_ ” Ablena thought, but never said a thing. Finn wasn’t supposed to know. The grown ups were supposed to be brave and strong. Not fearing a thing.

“I’ll take care of your family. It will be alright” Finn nodded. And after contemplating it all for a few seconds, he headed back.

_It’s alright_. A lie. A lie she had heard so many times from her mother. Her brother and father were alright for months... Until they weren’t. Until they died. Now she was repeating the same sentence to another kid. Just in a different language.

Ablena finally understood why her mother was lying. She finally understood why some lies were necessary.

Down the stairs she went. Ablena hadn’t felt such a fear in a long time. Such a long time that she started to forget how it felt to be terrified. Ever since she started living with the Shelbys she felt safe. Despite all the shit in their lives, these people were a true family. Arguing, hating, but caring for each other.

Something was terribly wrong.

Ada was crying. A constant stream of tears going down her face. Arthur, John and Tommy were also there. Sharing the same look in their eyes. Determination and guilt. They had already made a decision. They had to do the right thing, even though it broke their sister’s heart.

Next to them, across the table was placed the daily newspaper. Ablena was able to recognize just one word, but it was enough. She knew what it meant all to well.

War.

* * *

WEDNESDAY, 5 AUGUST, 1914.

A STATE OF WAR.

His Majesty's Government informed the German Government on August 4th, 1914, that, unless a satisfactory reply to the request of His Majesty's Government for an assurance that Germany would respect the neutrality of Belgium was received by midnight of that day, His Majesty's Government would feel bound to take all steps in their power to uphold that neutrality and the observance of a treaty to which Germany was as much a party as Great Britain.

The result of this communication having been that His Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin had to ask for his passports, His Majesty's Government have accordingly formally notified the German Government that a state of war exists between the two countries, as from 11 p.m. to-day.

Foreign Office,

August 4th, 1914. 

* * *

Tear after tear, Ablena was praying her heart away. The small wooden icon was remaining silent. Unfazed by her cries and pleads. That icon was one of the few things that she managed to take from her home. 

And now Ablena was standing in the same position her mother stood 2 years ago. Kneeling next to her bed, praying. Praying for her family to return. To survive.

But the icon was deaf to their prayers two years ago and it had remained deaf now. Deaf and heartless.

A knock on the door interrupted her prayer.

“Do you have a minute?” The light coming from the opened door cut the dark room in half. Complete darkness and yellow light.

Ablena wiped her tears away, but didn’t turn to face the person who was standing in the doorway.

“I know what you’re thinking...” Tommy started, taking a step in and lighting up the room.

“No. You don’t.” Ablena’s voice cracked. She had been crying for more than an hour and it was hard to speak actual words. “I’ve seen war Tommy. I know what it does to people. You’re either not going to return or you'll return broken.”

She spoke slowly. Thinking about her words. Carefully choosing them. She knew that those words were the most important ones she had ever said since she came to Birmingham. And fucking them up was not an option. Even though her English was still far from perfect, she put all her heart and mind in those few words.

And she sounded broken. Her life was cruelly taken away from her. Her home was gone. Her family was gone. And just like that Ablena was stripped away from her identity. A stranger in a strange land. And now for a second time, her life was crumbling in front of her eyes.

“We’ll be together, Arthur, John and I” Tommy put his hand on her shoulder. “Now please, get off the floor.”

Ablena didn’t resist being picked up and moved. It didn’t matter is she was curled up on the floor or she was leaning against Tommy on her bed. Nothing was gonna ease the pain. “It doesn’t matter. My father and brother were together and look where they ended.”

Tommy opened his mouth but the words weren’t coming back. How was one supposed to argue with someone who went through Hell and back?

Instead he simply stroked her head while the tears started rolling down again. “Ada and Finn already lost their parents. Don’t make them go through what I went through.”

And almost instinctively Ablena got closer to Tommy. Curling up by his side.

She almost never spoke of her family or her life back there. And those few sentences were more than Tommy needed to see how bad she was truly going. His arms wrapped tightly around the small body, almost like the day he found her.

“I won’t. I promise you” His lips touched her forehead. Holding her, as if she was going to fall apart any second. Her tears continued to fall down on his shirt. Staining it with sorrow and grief.

* * *

The train station was full of people. Nameless, faceless people. Ablena knew that scene all to well. People saying goodbye to their loved ones. Exactly what Ada, Polly, Finn and her were doing.

Saying goodbye to the last of the brothers who was left in Small Heath. Tommy.

Two weeks had already passed since John and Arthur went away. Two weeks in which the house got significantly quieter. Calmer. Arthur was gone and now no one was talking in a high-pitched voice in whatever ungodly hour of the night. John was gone and now someone else had to read Finn to sleep, although he always protested that he wanted John to do it.

His child mind didn’t understand what was happening and why his brothers weren’t around. He just knew that they will return. _Eventually._

It truly was a lie when Tommy said that Arthur, John and him were going to be together. His brothers were gone to France. And he was being send to a place, which name he couldn’t even pronounce. Dobropole.

A place, which brought Ablena to tears when she found out, Tommy was drafted there. He was going to fight people from her own country. He was going to attack the very country she used to call a home.

Her old home was being at war with her new. And only one was going to survive.

Tommy had already boarded the train. His compartment was full with man similar age to him. All of them way to young to kill or to be killed. But of course the second alternative didn’t cross their minds, dying seems life a foreign thing when you’re so young.

The three women were staying a few meters away from the train silent and stoic. They had already cried all the tears they had and now were tired. They were tired and the war still hadn’t properly started. The youngest of brothers was being held in Polly’s arms and was waving his hand at his Tommy. Smiling and laughing.

The train’s whistle notified that the train was going to depart soon. And as Ada heard that noise, she just broke down. Hysterical cries were coming out of her mouth. Almost inhumane. And even Ablena’s words couldn’t calm her down. Ada was grieving for her broken family. 

In less than a minute, Tommy was going to go away. He opened the compartment window and tried to call for his sister, but his voice was drowned by the weeping and the sounds of the train that started taking off.

And as the train station was getting further and further away, he opened his pocket to take out one of the few things he took from home. A white handkerchief with the initials A. S. embroidered with red thread.

The initials of the newest Shelby. One that had earned the name not by blood, but by heart. The one he trusted that will take care of his siblings while he was gone.

Ablena Shelby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read my story. I feel so bitter sweet. This is the end of something I love, but at the same time, endings are a good thing. I loved writing this series and I’ll miss it. Farewell Ablena. It was nice creating you!


End file.
